Welcome to another important hearing in our ongoing work to review the 2018 Farm Bill.   

As many of you will recall, our first hearing in my tenure as Chairman of this Committee discussed the role that farmers, ranchers, and foresters have in addressing climate change, as well as the impacts climate change will have on them and their local communities.  

Today’s hearing will focus on how the 2018 Farm Bill supports voluntary USDA programs that can help improve the profitability of our agriculture operations and mitigate climate change at the same time. 

Agriculture occupies a unique position in this conversation with the potential to have a great impact through innovation on both reducing emissions and sequestering greenhouse gases. 

Our rural communities are already facing inadequate infrastructure, and natural disasters that will grow in frequency and impact will further affect their ability to provide affordable, reliable electric service and clean drinking water. 

In 2021, the annual global surface temperature was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit above the average in the last century. Additionally, 61 percent of the landmass of the contiguous 48 states experienced moderate or worse drought. 

Make no mistake, climate change poses a threat to our rural communities, and to the production of food, fuel, and fiber. We must support our producers and rural communities in addressing this growing challenge. 

I want to ensure that our farm bill programs support producers, particularly historically underserved and beginning farmers, who want to innovate and adopt practices that conserve resources and address climate change, while also allowing farming to remain a viable way of life.  I am pleased that we have a young farmer here today who can speak to her experiences utilizing such programs through USDA.

Our aim is to also provide rural small businesses and towns with the tools to undertake efforts to address climate change impacts or increase their energy efficiency -- which helps their bottom lines and budgets.

And as we’re all seeing right now, increasing energy efficiency, and producing more renewable energy here at home should continue to be a goal to ensure that we don’t have to rely on other countries for our energy needs.

Today’s panel of witnesses brings a wide breadth of experience, from the role of the Federal government in program development and funding, all the way to how farmers are utilizing and implementing those programs.  

I have said time and time again that we want agriculture to be at the tip of the spear in our efforts to address climate change, and today’s hearing is going to further sharpen that point as we continue our work on the farm bill.  

I now recognize my friend and the Ranking Member of the Full Committee, ‘GT’ Thompson, for any opening remarks he may have.